In the storage and transporting of lengths of carpet and possibly other sheet materials, it is customary to spirally wind the carpet about an elongated hollow cardboard tube so that the carpet is not folded and creased during storage and transportation. In some instances, wrapping paper is wound about the outer surface of the reel of carpet with the edges of the paper extending beyond and folded about the ends of the carpet reel and stuffed into the central opening formed by the inner cardboard tube. A hollow plug is thrust into the ends of the hollow tube, and the plug tends to hold the folded edges of the wrapping paper in place about the ends of the reel of carpet.
A lift truck having a horizontally disposed, elongated lift pole is used to move the carpet package from place to place. The lift truck is driven toward one end of the carpet package, and the lift pole is thrust into the opening of the hollow plug and on into the internal passage of the inner tube. The lift truck pole is raised by the lift truck, which causes the carpet package to be lifted from the floor, and then the lift truck is driven to another location where the carpet package is deposited by lowering the lift pole until the carpet package rests on the floor, etc., whereupon the lift truck and its pole are backed away from the carpet package.
While the foregoing procedure has been standard in the prior art, there are times when it is difficult to thrust the hollow, open-ended plug into the opening formed by the inner tube. The difficulty usually is caused by the wrapping paper being stuffed into the opening, which occupies some of the space of the opening, thereby narrowing the dimensions of the opening. The hollow plug being inserted into the end of the inner tube must receive the lift pole of the lift truck, and therefore its internal diameter must be of at least a minimum size to allow passage of the lift pole. As a result of the minimum dimensions of the passage of the hollow plug, the internal dimensions of the hollow plug are necessarily large and cannot be reduced to facilitate ease of insertion of the hollow plug into the end opening of the inner tube of the carpet package.
Thus, it can be seen that it would be desirable to provide a carpet roll plug that is tapered at one end to facilitate the insertion of the plug into the end of the inner tube of the carpet package, yet having the smaller end of the carpet roll plug not impede the passage therethrough of the lift pole of the lift truck as the pole is thrust into or withdrawn from the carpet roll plug.